Access Bank Group (NGX:ACCESS, GSE:ABG), straight from acquiring Cavmont bank in Zambia has announced its intentions to grow its Zambian business by announcing a “merger” with Atlas Mara.
The West African bank has announced that it is merging its Zambian operations – Access Bank Zambia and Atlas Mara Zambia, but the statement also confirmed that the enlarged operation will be called Access Bank Zambia.
Upon completion of the transaction, Access Bank expects to retain or increase current shareholding in Access Bank Zambia
Access Bank Zambia will have over 70 branches and agencies, approximately $1 billion in total assets and over 300,000 customers after the merger
Transaction will not require significant additional capital investment from Access Bank
Deal is expected to be concluded in 2022, subject to regulatory approvals in Nigeria and Zambia.
Access Bank Group CEO Herbert Wigwe in a statement on the Nigerian Exchange website. stated that “this transaction is a milestone that brings us closer to our broader strategic objectives. The merger of Atlas Mara Zambia and Access Bank Zambia is expected to augment our presence in Zambia and the wider COMESA region.”
The Access Bank Group CEO has also hinted that its newly recruited country manager Lishala Situmbeko will lead the merged entity which effectively means that this may be at the expense of the Atlas Mara top management team.
